Government info taken off the Web since 9/11
Click for the PDAs-on-Afghanistan story
OMB Watch, a private government watchdog group, has compiled a list of documents the U.S. government has deleted from its Web servers since Sept. 11.
Along with the stuff you'd expect, such as maps of nuclear power stations, are some things you wouldn't: The state of Pennsylvania has taken down a database of environmental information.
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Beware hackers who talk too much
A rich hacker who claims to be organizing a cyberstrike against terrorists may be neither rich nor much of a hacker. The Register reports:Shameless German glam-h4x0r Kim Schmitz aka Kimble, who recently stole headlines with his YIHAT (Young Intelligent Hackers Against Terrorism) publicity stunt and his unsubstantiated claims to have hacked a Sudanese bank with /bin/laden accounts, has been fingered in a defacement of SecurityNewsPortal (SNP) which prompted the site's sudden closing. Oh, and the flamboyant Schmitz is broke, too.
10/25/01
A contest you can enter sitting down
So how ugly is your office chair? Ugly enough to enter into the Ugly Office Chair Contest?
Winner gets a new chair. Entries (which have to include a photo) accepted until 11/30/01.
While you're there, take a look at last year's entrants.
Via Danelope.
Now don't try this in the office
Detailed instructions on how to shoot rubber bands, from the "hand pistol" to the "submachine gun." Also features tips on disarming other rubber-band shooters before they get you:
"Disarming a rubber band is easier than you think, and with a little practice it should become second-nature to any shooter."
Via /usr/bin/girl.
Bob Patterson must die
OK, this one has absolutely nothing at all to do with enterprise networking (as opposed to the previous two links, ayup). But the wife and kiddie went out to the drug store last night, leaving me free to watch "Bob Patterson" on ABC. Oh. My. God. How did this show ever get approved? Why is it still on? How much longer before Jason Alexander explodes like a tick? Can somebody please come right over and shoot me if I ever turn it on again? Thank you.
10/24/01
Finally, a useful 404 page
You know 404 pages - those error messages that pop up when a site's deleted the page you'd bookmarked or when you mistype a URL. This 404 page doesn't just tell you a page doesn't exist. In fact, it doesn't tell you anything at all. But it does drag you into a game of Zork.
But if Zork isn't your thing, check out all the other cool 404 pages at
this 404 portal (of course there's a portal for 404 pages!)
Via MetaFilter.
Tech calls from hell
Tech Support Comedy is home to an endless supply of tech-support horror stories from the front lines. Be sure to check out the Tech Calls section, featuring recordings of some calls - especially the Broken Mouse one.
10/23/01
Teletubbies XP
Admit it: There's something appealing about a land of fluffy clouds and soft, fuzzy friends who say things like "Eh oh" and all you ever have to do is roll around under the warm, inviting sun.
In other words, we all have a secret desire to live in Teletubbyland. Microsoft, marketing genius that it is, evidently recognizes that. Or is there another explanation for the way that, as Cameron Barrett noticed, the default desktop in Windows XP looks just like the serene Teletubby landscape, only without all the Teletubbies and the Giant Floating Baby Head? Click on one of the images to the left for a close up view.
More XP fun
In honor of its launch tomorrow, may we also present:
Microsoft presents Dawn of the Cyber Dead
This is Steve Gibson's argument that XP will destroy the Internet as we know it. Um, okay, but click on the link anyway for what is possibly the world's greatest XP-related poster, ever (and just in time for Halloween).
Buy Windows XP and grapple women's breasts
A Register story about that Microsoft video in Switzerland showing how it plans to integrate its newest OS with women's clothing.
Microsoft ports XP to Mac?
Another Register story about a Microsoft ad that shows a user getting help for his XP problem - which might be caused by the fact that he's actually sitting in front of a Mac.
Microsoft Announces Windows TP
Press release and related media followup.
Microsoft anti-trust cartoons
More than 100 from across the country. OK, has nothing to do with XP, but it's interesting this is hosted by Microsoft's house organ, Slate.
10/22/01
Anthrax and e-mail
Is it life imitating art, or art imitating life? Depends which of the following came first. Let's start with this press release from ZipSend:
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (INTERNET WIRE) -- 10/16/2001 -- The threat of letters laced with anthrax coupled with the fear of the unknown are propelling a modest, San Francisco-based technology company to the front-lines in the battle against bioterrorism.
ZipSend, Inc., a fledgling technology startup and survivor of the recent dot-com downturn, is offering its patent-pending delivery process as a defense for the government, private businesses and individuals exposed to the threat of chemically contaminated letters and packages.
ZipSend's proprietary delivery system notifies its registered users via email of a pending delivery. Users, in turn, determine whether (or not) they wish to accept delivery of a given parcel and, if so, where they wish to have it delivered. Throughout the entire process, neither sender nor recipient is required to exchange personal information; ZipSend serves as a third-party escrow service to facilitate the process.
OK, now let's look at the top of this story from SatireWire:
SPAMTHRAX — CONTRACTING ANTHRAX VIA EMAIL
Also Information on Net Evacuation, Bayer's Production of e-CiproWashington, D.C. (SatireWire.com) — The FBI today did not issue an alert for electronically disseminated anthrax, also known as "spamthrax," because anthrax cannot be propagated through email. However, that will likely not stop panic-stricken thousands, who freaked after viewing the headline above, from spreading a rumor that the Internet has been evacuated.
Fearing infection, many of these same people have already warned friends and colleagues not to open email attachments. Others, meanwhile, shut down their computers before reading even this far, and as a result they will not see the following paragraphs explaining that there is no such thing as spamthrax.
Read more on the ZipSend release at buzz.weblogs.com.
Larry's ID card
Brad Templeton shows what it might look like.
Via Kuro5hin.
World's longest gum-wrapper chain
World's only gum-wrapper chain?
OFFICIAL LENGTH ON MARCH 11, 2001:
36,705 FEET
THIS CHAIN CONTAINS: 853,898 GUM WRAPPERS!Hello, I'm Gary Duschl of Waterdown, Ontario, Canada, current record holder of the world's longest gum wrapper chain.
About the chain:
Began on March 11, 1965
$59,773 worth of gum
Weight- 502 lbs. or 228 kgs
Volume 44 cubic feet
WRIGLEY wrappers only
RELATED LINKS
Compendium archive: Week of 01/21/02 Week of 01/14/02 Week of 01/07/02 Week of 01/02/02 Week of 12/03/01 Week of 11/26/01 Week of 11/19/01 Week of 11/12/01 Week of 11/05/01 Week of 10/29/01 Week of 10/22/01 Week of 10/15/01 Week of 10/08/01 Week of 10/01/01 Week of 9/24/01 Weeks of 9/10/01 - 9/17/01 Week of 9/3/01 Week of 8/27/01 Week of 8/20/01 Week of 8/13/01 Week of 8/6/01 Note: Compendium's entire staff took the week of 7/30 off. Week of 7/23/01 Week of 7/16/01 Week of 7/9/01 Week of 7/2/01 Week of 6/25/01 Week of 6/18/01 Week of 6/11/01 Week of 6/4/01
Tracking down a stolen Mac; Dead C Scrolls; Googlewhacking; How bad is it in the Valley?; Storage lessons from the Wayback Machine; The pub-seeking handheld; Internet gang wars; Outlook XP breaks MIME.
Why should iMac owners have all the eye candy?; Luxo Redux; So you think your job is bad; Google as a DNS replacement? Not so fast; Nokia exec cites stock plunge in speeding-fine appeal; The tragedy of the .coms; The Google parlor game; Some people *like* Steve the Dell Guy; Ban all Microsoft attachments?
Dot-com to bare all; iMac Dance; Wendy's remembers Dave; Search engine bites the dust; Wendy's Web site ignores Dave's death; Geek comic strip; Youngest security expert ever; Spam poetry; Confessions of a hacker; Breathless Apple; Dave Barry does Windows XP.
Dropping everything to vote; The best Apple rumors, ever; Guess Steve Case isn't getting into Harvard; Make your own O'Reilly cover; Boosting your wireless juice; Telnet lives!
This space intentionally left blank (vacation).
The most useless software ever; Is Microsoft getting ready to squash PC vendors?; Excite@Home: The Watergate of the New Economy?; No more 3Com Park. Is CMGI Field next?; Are you an e-bore?; This site'll have you coming and going; Entertainment Weekly's loss of innocence; Ensign Crusher as Entertainer of the Year; Oh, for the old days.
The Museum of Broken Packets; Just in time for Thanksgiving; Tourist Guy found; Why virtual offices suck; A domain ruling that sucks; Hacking the iPod.
Why you shouldn't ship computers via UPS; When .Net requires Java; High-tech grafitti artists; Spam from beyond the grave; New group tries to oversee the whole Internet; Paging Dick Tracy; Students use PDAs to cheat; Windaz for Aussies, Newfies; Another alternative to Passport; A virtual honeynet
Bill Gates: Father of open source; Verizon exec: Monopoly is good; Weird molecule names; E-mail: too much of a good thing?; A cluster of one; More woes for dot-bombers; Spam as weapon in the war on crime; Just when you think the Web can't get any better; Just when you think the Web can't get any worse; More proof I shouldn't be a wiseass; Using your Web logs to ID hacker attacks; Help save the FAQs; Who do you trust, baby?; Powerpuff Girls powerless against virus; Big IP pipe between US, Europe.
The profit of turning thugs into programmers; Work Name Generator; A programmer's lament; The world's best ATM; Are anti-spammers killing people?; Web services and storage; Get your Aerons here; Perl for the XXI-imum century; Microsoft's blocking of non-IE browsers.
Government info taken off the Web since 9/11; Beware hackers who talk too much; A contest you can enter sitting down; Now don't try this in the office; Bob Patterson must die; Finally, a useful 404 page; Tech calls from hell; Teletubbies XP; More XP fun; Anthrax and e-mail; Larry's ID card; World's longest gum-wrapper chain.
Let's drop PDAs on Afghanistan; Voice control? Try grunt control; Spam gets back to business; A content-management portal; Share your system tray with the world; Would you let the recording industry onto your network?; Al Queda's low-tech high tech; 9/11 archive; Shoe company gets open source after all; Pod people, coming soon to a cube near you.
Larry and Scott's dueling ID cards; Cringely: Broadband is dead; The dangers of Photoshop; The dangers of copy protection; Microsoft mining whois for telephone solicitations?; How to REALLY throw a LAN party; Good fences don't make good 'Net neighbors; How Google adapted to 9/11 news; Web services as over-hyped hooey; Why shoe guys shouldn't do open source; Online air hockey.
AT&T waives 9/11 wireless charges for some; Shifting gears; Craig Burton on the Novell/Microsoft suit; In search of the post-PC interface; Vibrating PDAs and wearable phones; Gary Condit's Web site; No, that isn't a real photo of a WTC tourist; How to throw a LAN party; How sucky is your intranet?
For grizzled 'Net veterans; UK ISP forced to pull deceptive ads; Pretty Good encryption controversy; Are you as smart as Miss America?; Really securing your computer; Still lots of insecure IIS servers; Kids, don't try this at home; Anthrax Kills; Larry's national database; Nimda hysteria?
Attack and post-attack items.
999,999,999 bottles of beer on the wall; Finally, a wind-up cell phone; Enough with the ringing!; The VoIP calculator; 802.11b insecurity; Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf explains IOS DHCP; Is ENUM the mark of the devil?; AOL gives user permanent demerit; The Ballmer music video; Cleveland news flash: Y2K was last year.
Re-routing around censorship; Us vs. them in scripting; The boss button; Fighting off the hackers for fun; Peer computing as a weapon of war; Unix poetry; The Windows Fatal Exception Decoder; New Fusion widget: Getting rid of spyware; The sound of 200 cell phones going off at once; Taleban Web site hacked; Hey, sysadmin, remember Sircam?
On the importance of flame wars; Bill Gates sees dead people?; A markup language for grunts and groans; Is Microsoft leaking those Ballmer dance videos?; Good Samaritan not so good?; Steve Ballmer works up a sweat; Open-source wireless cracking; When technology goes too far; Another dumb computer arrest?; Is Cisco Communist?
Moron marketers threaten 'Net users; Finding free wireless access; Complete wastes of time; OS holy war flares in North Carolina; Are programmers weird?; Somebody actually buys an X10 camera; We're number, uh, two!; Those after-hours computer discussions; An entire city running on Linux; Distributed spam fighter under development; Could a Warhol virus infect the entire 'Net in 15 minutes?; Tell AOL what to do with its CDs.
Fusion shatters a myth; Bridging .Net and Java?; AT&T Broadband cuts off non-IIS servers to fight Code Red; Bluetoothless; Tennessee town bites into Apple; And you thought TI-99/4A fans were over the edge; Biometrics coming to your local supermarket; Steve Ballmer a-hootin' and a-hollerin'; Speaking of Web images; Just how far PC prices have fallen; Does Starbucks' CEO get his own wireless strategy?
Crackers getting more sophisticated; Sex and Microsoft Office; The wonders of science, part MXXII; Finally, a useful virus; A shocking game controller; Big Ball of Mud school of programming; Two vitally important new resources; Adobe: Ooops; Eudora Welty, dead at 92; Centralizing Unix administration in Perl; Spellchecking the entire Web.
Worm turns on Microsoft Web servers; The day the ISP died; Cell-phone users have no shame; Even Internet consultants can screw up the 'Net; Symphony for Dot Matrix Printers; The ultimate cup of coffee; The solar-powered ISP; Everhost; Internet VCer: Oops; The Lego Palm and the pink fuzzy laptop; The Microsoft-English dictionary; Putting a loved one in the home.
Saving those all important VoIP calls; This site is a bright idea; Could wireless end messy divorces?; How much will that software really cost you?; Ghosts of failed dot-coms; The spy's guide to securing your Cisco routers; Oprah for Internet czarina?; What's Microsoft doing at an open-source conference?; Like a big pizza pi; Cyber-bullies; Better check your phone bill; Have some birthday pi.
How HP wastes energy to save energy; New toy for the bored and lonely; Weird programming languages; When sponsors are speakers; The case of the disturbing backwards monitor; Congress to ICANN: Drop dead; Yet another video game made into a movie; Smile, you're on Candid (Police) Camera; High-speed hotels; Network Solutions blocking name transfers?
One of the fathers of Usenet dead at 45; Are you ready for insta-spam?; Diary of a site collapse; Skirting the issue; Assimiliating the Web; Trolling for help; Software wars; Rating the rater; True tales from the help desk; How about spam embedded in your mail?
Unix diapers; A beautiful waste of time; A P2P taxonomy; This page is too stupid; Homeless dot-commer bogus?; Whee, Linux is fun!; Blue Screens everywhere; Forget viruses: This fungus eats CDs; Microsoft revises Smart Tags a bit; Homeless dot-commers.
Slashdot crashes the NSA; They may be Smart Tags, but they're not Original Tags; What open source and California wines have in common; Jakob Nielsen no tyro; How to make Windows 2000 really, really secure; Where the Internet begins; A useful computer bug; The clothes make the geek; The end of the Internet; Why PDF bites; Novel use of a wireless phone; Hidden info; When Web sites tell too much.
DSL modems are so '90s; Bye-bye Netscape; Get ready to upgrade those mail servers; The anti-.Net; The real reason to buy a Palm; Anatomy of a DDoS attack; Pain is good.
